August 2014

When I was in Vegas for ITExpo, I participated on a Voice Analytics panel at the SmartVoice co-located conference. Speech / Voice Analytics is really taking off. Voice analytics is basically taking all the recording that is going on, and analyzing that information into more structured and reportable formats. In the past, we called this “data mining”.

When I talk to customers, they often ask about how WebRTC compares to voice over LTE (VoLTE), and which technology “will win.” Those who believe that there has to be a concrete winner and loser in this debate say so because WebRTC is over-the-top content (OTT),while VoLTE is carrier supported.

I do not necessarily see it that way. In my opinion, WebRTC is a way for voice and video to be integrated into communications applications. Sure, you can make a WebRTC point-to-point VoIP call, which technically would compete with a VoLTE call, but WebRTC really comes down to the apps.

Not so many years ago, the only way to connect to the Internet was via a modem. You would use your digital or analog line, and literally place “calls” to the Internet. Nowadays, we either use Wi-Fi or some other type of broadband connection. But in the early days of the Internet, connecting through a modem was the only option.

I’ve attended the ITExpo for many years, and lately I’ve been asking myself, “Is this event still relevant?” At one time, ITExpo stood for Internet Telephony Expo and well, long gone are the days when we need special conferences to learn about VoIP. This year’s event is taking place in Las Vegas next week, and while I like Vegas, do I really want to be there when it’s 112 degrees?

The answer is yes. Despite the heat, I’m looking forward to speaking at the ITExpo next week because I’m confident that it’s still a relevant event.